Blaze of Starlight
by asthiathien
Summary: A story based off of Final Yamato, in which the saga goes beyond the Aquarius storyline, and in which the Yamato is the key to a destiny, and a secret, which no one anticipated.
1. Prologue: The Destiny of the Yamato

_Prologue_

The universe stretches to infinity. Stars are born, and stars die. Nothing is immortal. Entropy is always victorious.

But it has always been the task of life to fight on, even when their few victories are eventually blown away like ashes in the wind.

The fight for life has always been one in which those who fight for life have won battles, but death has always one the war.

This fight has been the mission of the _Space Battleship Yamato. _But she has achieved victories which seem all but impossible. The spirit of this ancient warrior has the ability to change anything and anyone. The crew, for they, after all, are only mortal, have not yet realized the import of their victories. It has always been the spirits of outer space-_Starsha, Trelaina, Guardiana_-who have recognized what the _Yamato_ truly is, and all she is capable of. They have taken it upon themselves to protect her, so she may fulfill the destiny which is rising from the shadows.

There are many universes, many truths, many variants of the same story. In some, the last, great victory is achieved. In some, it is not.

The crew of the _Yamato_, and the _Yamato_ herself, have in their hearts a resolve unmatched by any other in all the cosmos, in all the myriad universes. So long as they have breath in their bodies and strength in their hearts, they will never fall, and never fade.

It is this resolve which has the power to change that which is believed unchangeable. It is this which can stand against the everlasting darkness and not only resist it, but _destroy_ it forever.

But their resolve is not their only strength. Even though they are often called upon to fight, they do not enjoy it. It is this which gives them the light to stand against darkness, and this which may someday bring about the destruction of war and death. For all eternity, and for all things.

But they have not reached the place in which they will be have this chance. Though there are some who have guessed it, they are unaware of all that they can become.

This is the story of the _Space Battleship Yamato_, and of the battles they fight so that, someday, there may be peace.


	2. Chapter One: First Encounter

_Chapter One_

"Leader Desslok, come in! This is the EDS _Yamato_! Come in!"

Wildstar gripped the panel tightly in his right hand as he stared out at the chaotic void of red and black that was this alternate galaxy that had collided with theirs. _Come on, Desslok, contact us! Respond, curse it! Where are you?_

The ship pitched wildly to the side, and only Wildstar's death-grip on his console kept him in his chair. "Venture, keep us from crashing into something, will you?"

Venture righted the ship and gave him a rather sharp look. "I'm trying, buddy! I know you're stressed, but lay off!"

Wildstar blinked at Venture's sharp rebuke-something he had not encountered since their mission to Iscandar-even though he knew it had been fully justified. He nodded and went back to staring out the window, gritting his teeth.

_This galaxy crashed into ours from another dimension, apparently. Sounds a bit strange, in my opinion, even though half the stuff I've had to deal with could be called strange. Commander Singleton assigned us to do a survey of this area-I think because he knows we're the only vessel that could conceivably survive something like this. Irony abounds: a 200-year-old ship is the best thing in the fleet. _

_However,_ he continued, listening carefully to the sounds of static that were the only response to Homer's frantic messages, _what he didn't expect was that there would be a personal connection in this mission as well. _He glanced around at the area of space, now lit by a hellish red, though it had been a calm emerald when he last saw it. _This is the homeworld of the Galman-Gamilon Empire. Desslok's homeworld. I know we haven't always been friendly-which has to be the understatement of the century-but he's honorable. And almost kind, now. That's probably the best I can hope for._

"They still haven't responded!" Homer's panicked voice sliced into his thoughts, scattering them like ashes on wind. The analogy struck him as a little too morbidly accurate. _Like ashes. . ._

"Galman on radar! Entering visual range in ten seconds!"

A ball of rock and burning gas which resembled a tremendous comet loomed up in their path, and Venture swung the ship violently to starboard before entering the shadow of Galman.

Wildstar let out an involuntary gasp as he stared at the devastation. The once-bright capital city shone only with reflected light from the nearby explosions as stars collided and spun apart.

But, most striking, the tall central palace was nearly torn in two, the upper half dangling from the superstructure by only fragments of torn metal.

"Desslok. . ." Wildstar whispered, his hand falling slack.

* * *

The bridge crew stood on the bow of the _Yamato_, illuminated by the harsh explosions as the nearby star systems tore themselves apart. They knew it was risky to remain here so long, but Wildstar had insisted, and no one had the inclination to stop him.

"Desslok, the brave warrior!" Wildstar whispered as he stepped to the very edge of the bow. "My enemy and friend. . . I will never forget you." He gently threw the flowers in his hands over the edge. As he had ordered, the main guns of the mighty battleship each fired off several salvoes, the blue energy twirling away into the distance. The roses slowly drifted down into the destroyed citadel, their pale color standing out against the darkness until they faded from sight.

Wildstar held the salute as the sound of the guns faded out. Tears brimmed in his eyes, as he suspected they pricked the eyes of the others. No matter what they personally thought of Leader Desslok, their one-time enemy, the fact could not be disputed that he was an honorable warrior, just as they were. The crew of the _Yamato_ respected him for that.

Wildstar looked over the city, thinking, _Once, I stood like this before the wreckage of Gamilon. Now. . . everything about our first mission is lost. There is only us. Desslok, wherever you are. . . may your soul rest in peace._

But the peace of this moment was finally broken by the indisputable force of Nature as she extended the wave of the destruction out towards Galman and the Star Force, intent upon shaking them both to pieces.

The crew, solemnity broken by need for survival, dashed from the ship and onto the bridge.

Venture turned to Wildstar, fire blazing in his eyes, and shouted, "Wildstar, the forces are pulling the dimensional boundary apart!"

"It's likely the 'invader' galaxy is attempting to return to its home dimension," Sandor said as he looked over the readouts with the frenetic pace of a scientist on the verge of a discovery.

"We don't have time for hypothesizing now!" Venture shouted. "We have to get _out_ of here!"

"Then _go_!" Wildstar yelled, reaching his seat and strapping himself in. He spared a last glance towards the planet below as they pulled away, before shifting his focus to the main priority: escape.

But escape was proving less likely by the second. Even Venture's supreme navigational skills could not outrun the building wave of dimensional energy that flowed towards them. The red light of the invader galaxy lit up the bridge with a terrifying fire as they all realized they could not escape from this cataclysm.

"Warp us out!" Wildstar shouted desperately.

Venture nodded, hiding his panic behind the calm demeanor of a man who did his duty. "Roger, random warp!"

He pulled back on the lever, and the ship shimmered a pale blue before fading out in the vast reaches of space.

* * *

Far from the galactic disturbances of Galman territory, a deceptively peaceful dark blue planet hung in orbit around a shining gold star. And, nearby, as if in orbit, there was another planet, one of lighter blue that shone from within with soft emerald light. But it was too close, far too close to be natural. This was the water planet Aquarius, bringer of life. It was she who had provided the infant Earth with the foundation of life.

However, she was also a death-bringer. And now, it was that role she played to the planet Dinguil, a role they were helpless to stop.

The once-bright sky of the planet was obscured by clouds, from which poured a torrent of rain as lightning blazed out across the dying world. The people of this world were helpless against the floodwaters which decimated everything in their path.

High above this holocaust, the _Yamato_ hovered, her crew the only thing which could hope to assist.

"The majority of the remaining population is concentrated in that temple!" Nova shouted, bringing up an image of the stone construction, seated on what had once been a tremendous hill.

"What about the rest of them?" Venture demanded. "The entire population can't be in that little temple! This is an entire planet!"

Nova shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. "They're the only ones that have escaped."

Wildstar let out an angry hiss and said, "Venture, take us down. We have to launch a rescue boat for them."

Venture nodded and the ship sliced into the raging sea. Sheets of water ran down the forward windows as he struggled to keep the ship steady.

"Rescue team, go!" Wildstar yelled into his mike.

A few moments later, a sleek rescue craft sped towards the temple from one of the side bays. Already, the last solid ground there was left was buried beneath three feet of water.

Not a moment after the ship turned and fled back to the _Yamato_, a towering wave swallowed up the temple, leaving it to the mercy of the sea.

But the sea's tender mercies were currently focused on a gray-and-red battleship that titled crazily as the waves shifted beneath her. The rescue craft was almost aboard when the water took its vengeance upon the ship for allowing her prey to escape.

A swell more powerful than anything they had encountered slammed into the _Yamato. _Only Venture's expert skill kept the battleship from capsizing altogether.

But the price was that the rescue craft, still unsecured, fell from its mooring, sending crewmembers and rescued alike into the sea.

The only one who survived was a young boy, held from falling by Derek Wildstar.

* * *

Wildstar ran onto the bridge, shouting, "Venture! Why are we taking off? We have to rescue them!"

"If we stay here any longer, we'll die along with the planet!" he shouted back, spinning around to face his enraged friend.

Wildstar grabbed the front of his shirt and yelled, "But what about those drowning people! Our crewmembers! The innocents!"

Venture shook his head. "If any of us are to survive, we must leave now!"

Wildstar released him and spun away, shouting angrily into the intercom, "Prepare for take off!" Then he sat down in his chair and buried his face in his hands, sobbing as the ship lifted away from the planet, abandoning those it would have rescued.

* * *

_Out of millions, the only one we rescued was a little boy_, Wildstar thought sadly as he looked down at the unconscious figure, _at the cost of many lives_. He sighed as Sandor looked over the data from the examination. The little boy he had rescued was lying still, white-silver hair still slightly wet from the rain. His skin was a pale blue reminiscent of the Gamilons or Dark Nebulans.

Sandor scowled and turned to Wildstar. "According to analysis, he's identical to us." The look in his eyes matched Wildstar's thoughts:

_Really, what is it with blue-skinned aliens being the same as us? _

Wildstar nodded. "Keep me posted on his condition, Sandor," he said, giving him a little shrug in answer to his unspoken question.

Suddenly, the alert klaxons began blaring violently, and Wildstar spun around and headed for the lift with Sandor hot on his heels.

A mere few seconds later, they exited onto the bridge and dashed for their respective seats.

"Nova, what's going on?" Wildstar demanded as he sat down in his chair.

"A large fleet is approaching; a main flagship, several battleships, and multiple destroyers acting as escort craft."

"In other words, same old. Big giant fleet, pompous commander, yada yada yada."

"Maybe not," Sandor said. The edge to his voice made Wildstar turn and give him a nervous look. "They appear to be powering up an unknown weapon system."

"Message coming in from the enemy!" Homer reported.

"Video panel."

"It's text only, Skipper." Wildstar gritted his teeth. He hated being called that, but it was usually a mark of someone being annoyed with him. "_The grand Earth battleship Yamato. The bane of any who dare attack your world. A world which will easily fall once we have taken care of you._" Homer looked up. "That's it."

"Told you he'd be pompous," Wildstar muttered under his breath, then said, "Okay, we have to warn Earth of this. Do not engage, repeat, _do not engage_. Prepare to warp as soon as possible."

Venture gave him a weird look, and he shrugged. "Sure, then," Venture said. "Yamazaki, how long until we can warp?"

"Give us two minutes to build power," he replied, almost calmly.

Wildstar leaned back as he watched the fleet firing their weapons, which completely missed them.

"They stink," Dash said, chuckling. "Wildstar, I don't suppose we can give them a demonstration of how _real_ battleships fire?"

"We can spare three shots of the forward cannons," Yamazaki said.

Wildstar looked over at him. "In that case, knock yourself out."

Dash smiled and barked into his mike, "Gunners, we've got three shots before we warp! Make 'em count! Aim at the battleships!"

The sleek main guns lowered steadily into position, and Dash and Wildstar's boards went green.

"Fire!" Wildstar snapped.

"Aye, fire!" Dash repeated, and the barrels glowed blue before releasing a stream of energy which cut into the battleships like a sword. The explosions came a few moments later, and they took out several nearby destroyers as well.

"Change turret angle: One, plus two degrees; three, minus five degrees; and. . . fire!"

The guns fired off another salvo into the fleet. One shot came close to hitting the flagship before striking a hidden carrier instead.

More of the enemy's reddish fire blasted around them, this time skidding along their hull. A minor explosion sounded, but they were otherwise undamaged.

"Better now we've taken out their ships," Dash commented. "Now, I almost want to leave."

"Save the comments for later, Dash! We've got one last shot; see if we can take down the flagship!"

Aye; change angle, plus eight, fire!"

The guns went off for the last time, the blue energy slicing into towards the flagship. One of the destroyers leaped into the path of the energy, exploding but leaving the flagship undamaged.

Dash slammed his hand down on the console and sighed. "Curse it, maybe we could've stopped the attack!"

"I doubt it," Nova said. "This was probably just an advance fleet."

"Ten seconds to warp!" Venture barked.

"Whoa!" Eager yelled. "There's somethin' big headin' our way!"

"Missiles!" Sandor shouted. "Their energy signature is similar to the Galman proton missiles!"

"Okay, maybe this wasn't as much of a pushover as we first thought!" Dash yelled.

"Doesn't matter," Venture said. "We'll be gone! Warp!"

Just before the deadly black missiles hit, the _Yamato_ shimmered and warped away, escaping destruction by a hair.

* * *

"Curses!" the enemy commander shouted. "I _had_ them!"

"Do not despair," a deep voice said as the bridge of the flagship darkened. "Lugarl, you are the Prince of Dinguil. You will beat them and obtain Earth as our new homeworld. So the gods have proclaimed."

"Yes, Father," the tall, blue-skinned man said. "I will not fail you."

"I know," the voice said. "I much prefer your fighting skill to that of the Aquarius plan. Destroy the _Yamato_, and conquer Earth. I may allow them to live," he said, laughing coldly. "May."

"Yes, Father," Lugarl II said, bowing. "Your command will be carried out."

The communication cut out, and Lugarl II rose, his resolve strengthened anew. He would not rest until the _Yamato_ fell.


	3. Chapter Two: Battle to the Death

_Chapter Two_

". . . and that concludes my report, gentlemen," Wildstar said, looking up at the EDF Council and wondering if anyone had actually listened to any of it.

"Why do you think an attack is imminent, Captain?" Stone said with a sneer and emphasis on the word _Captain_.

Wildstar held his temper in check and said, "Sir, they fired on us before we attacked them in self defense. Sure, they were terrible shots-" Chuckles from around the room "-but the sentiment was there. And before they attacked, they sent a message which said, and I quote, 'The grand Earth battleship Yamato. The bane of any who dare attack your world. A world which will easily fall once we have taken care of you.' In my opinion, sir, this is a clear declaration of war."

Stone leaned forward as if to say something insulting, but Singleton held him back as he said, "Very well, Captain. Your report is satisfactory. You may go."

Wildstar nodded his thanks and snapped a crisp salute before he turned on his heel and left. Immediately outside were Nova and Sandor, who had been waiting for him to report.

"How'd it go?" Sandor asked immediately.

Wildstar shrugged. "As well as all my other reports. I doubt anyone was listening, and Stone harped on about how we didn't actually know they were going to invade." He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes against the sun. "I hope the Commander can at least get them to listen. Where's Venture?"

"He went to get a doughnut," Nova said as she sat down on a nearby bench. Almost immediately, a black-haired figure in a green-on-white uniform with a peacoat over it came around the side of the building. Sure enough, he held a jelly doughnut in his right hand.

"Speak of the devil," Wildstar said, walking up to give his longtime friend a lighthearted punch on the arm. He indicated the doughnut with his other hand. "Got any more of those?"

"I thought you didn't like jelly," Venture said through a mouthful of doughnut.

Wildstar rolled his eyes. "_Doughnuts_, ya idiot."

Venture shook his head.

"Bully."

Nova and Sandor snickered.

"Well," Venture said, sitting on the bench next to Nova, "do you think the Council will actually help?"

Nova shook her head, the sunlight turning her hair gold. "Not a chance. I have this mental image of them voting on whether or not the enemy actually exists in the middle of some sort of prison camp."

Sandor gave her a weird look. "They're not _that_ thick-headed. . . are they?"

"When I was serving under Commander Singleton as his aide," Nova said, leaning back and tilting her face up to the light, "one of the generals continually insisted that Desslok's change of heart was one big trap to destroy us, all the way up to when the sun started going crazy."

Sandor shook his head. "Idiots."

"That's not the half of it. _Another_ councilman said that Desslok wasn't even _alive_."

"So we were all hallucinating the attacks?" Wildstar asked, shaking his head. "And these are the people who decide if we live or die?"

He was cut off by the sound of blaring alarms.

"Those are the old Gamilon War alarms!" Venture shouted as he leaped to his feet. "What's going on?"

Suddenly, Commander Singleton ran out of the building and shouted, "Wildstar!"

"Sir!" they all said, saluting in unison.

Singleton shook his head. "No time for formality. They're attacking. The people you met."

Wildstar instinctively began to turn to head for the _Yamato_'s dock, but paused. "You want us to fight them, sir?"

Singleton nodded. "Yes. As soon as possible."

Wildstar made the fastest salute he had ever done, and gestured at the others to follow him as he ran for the dock. Nova caught up with him and said sweetly in his ear, "You won't mind if your radar operator's uniform is non-regulation, will you?"

He looked over and noticed she was wearing what looked like a white version of the pink outfit she had greeted him in before the Comet Empire showed up. "Nah."

Nova smiled and took his hand as she ran alongside him, heading for the _Yamato_.

* * *

Wildstar dashed onto the bridge, throwing his peacoat over the back of his chair as he sat down.

"Wildstar," Eager shouted over to him, "their fleet is way bigger than what they had when we met them! It's chewin' our ships up and spitting 'em right back out!"

"Interesting analogy, but accurate," Nova shouted as she turned on the Cosmo-Radar.

"Yamazaki, I need power!" Venture shouted as he began frantically flipping switches in preparation for the launch.

"We're trying!" the Chief Engineer yelled back. "The docking umbilicals were hit!"

"Conroy, can you launch?" Wildstar barked into the intercom.

"We can use the catapults!"

"Then get out there and buy us some time!"

One by one, the Black Tigers sped off the launch catapults stationed on either side of the aft gun turrets and fired their missiles and laser cannons at the enemy, trying to lighten the loud on the beleaguered ship.

"Auxiliary powerup completed!" Venture shouted, grunting as the ship pitched to the side from a missile impact.

"Main engine preparations completed; preparing to engage flywheel!" Yamazaki snapped. A Black Tiger intercepted an enemy destroyer, and the resulting flash lit up the bridge.

"Engage!"

The ship's deck trembled, humming violently as the flywheel, the heart of the Wave Motion Engine, began to spin. The engine began to glow a harsh white as the ship sped forward, heading across the water. Slowly, the _Yamato_'s main guns spun to fire at the enemy in what was beginning to seem like a replay of he previous incarnation's final battle.

"Takeoff in three. . . two. . . one!"

"_Yamato_, launch!" Wildstar yelled as the ship blasted off from the water and ascended into the midst of the fighting.

* * *

"All guns, fire!" Dash ordered as the ship shot into the middle of the battle.

They couldn't miss. The guns took out four enemy battleships on the first salvo, and an additional eight escort craft and fighters fell to the resulting explosions.

On the bridge of the Dinguil flagship, Prince Lugarl stared in shock and delight at the new ship.

"What luck," he whispered. "The gods bless me today. Men," he shouted, "now is our chance. Crush that battleship!"

The fleet moved to surround the _Yamato_, their weapons blazing as they fired.

The _Yamato_ trembled from six direct hits in quick succession, and the crew was thrown violently against the walls as they were hit again and again.

Wildstar hissed angrily and shouted, "We're not going to let them walk all over us! Dash, fire the missiles! Venture, spin the ship!"

"Spin the. . . okay."

The ship twirled to port, the smokestack missiles firing and taking out more of the enemy fleet. The rear guns fired, forcing the tailing ships to split apart to avoid the shots.

The _Yamato_ then flipped back to her normal orientation before doing what looked like a backflip and ending up facing the enemy fleet upside-down.

"Venture!"

Venture looked unabashed. "You told me to spin the ship! I improvised!"

"I didn't say. . . oh, whatever. Fire!"

The guns went off, slicing into the unprotected underbelly of the ships. They were beginning to flip around as a second and third firings decimated their ranks.

But the victories came at a cost. A violent explosion sounded as a shot from the flagship tore off the third bridge, and another few shots hit the forward cannons, more or less rendering them useless. Another shot took out the starboard pulse laser batteries.

"Wildstar," Sandor said. "I've finished analyzing their missiles. It appears they contain a mechanism to release large amounts of radioactive material. You need to call for a space suit dress code!"

"Roger," Wildstar said, and called into the intercom, "All hands! Put on your space suits immediately!"

"Wildstar!" Homer called around putting on his helmet. "Captain Matthews wants to talk to you immediately!"

"Put him on the video panel," Wildstar said as he sealed his helmet. A few moments later, the image of a tall man with brown hair and beard appeared on the screen.

Wildstar saluted quickly as the captain said, "You're here, Star Force. With you, we at least have a chance. My fleet is being overwhelmed. I'll hold them off as long as I can so you can get rid of them."

Sandor's eyes went wide and he leaped to his feet, shouting, "Captain, get clear!"

A few moments later, everyone knew what had frightened him.

Three missiles, their tips glowing green, sliced through space and impacted into the hull of Captain Matthews' flagship. The missiles sank into the hull, making sure they punctured into the interior of the ship, before glowing a bright red as they discharged the radiation within them. The crew fell first, poisoned by the radiation, and then the hull blew apart, engulfing the nearby ships in its final explosion.

The Star Force stared in shock as the screen went black, but not before they had seen the crew of their fellow ship die.

"_Derek_!" Nova shouted desperately. "Three more missiles are heading for us!"

"Gunners!" Wildstar roared. "_Last salvo_! We won't go down without a fight!"

All the remaining weapons fired one last time as the missiles streaked in. The shots took out several enemy ships before the missiles slammed home.

Wildstar fell from his seat as they struck, turning to catch Nova's gentle brown eyes before the world went black.


	4. Chapter Three: Do Not Go Gently

_Chapter Three_

"Get. Up."

Wildstar groaned as the rifle prodded his ribcage again. With a long sigh, he slowly opened his eyes to see a masked soldier leaning over him. He poked him again with the rifle.

"I know, I know," Wildstar said tiredly as he pushed himself to his feet, holding his hands over his head. He could see Venture and Sandor standing in a similar manner off to his right. To his left, three or four troopers were repeatedly jabbing Dash with their rifles, only to receive snores in return.

"This doesn't make sense," Sandor muttered under his breath as they stared out the bridge windows at an Earth surrounded by the enemy. "The radiation should have knocked us completely unconscious."

One of the guards struck him across the back of his knee with his gun, at which Sandor simply gave him a look like, _I'm a cyborg. Bash my legs all you want, it's never going to hurt._

Wildstar twisted around, trying to catch a glimpse of Nova. A guard struck him as well, but Wildstar had turned around sufficiently that when he fell he had a clear view of her station. She was on her feet, shaking her head from side to side as if she was just waking up. Upon catching Wildstar's eyes, she gave him a wan smile.

He was about to smile back when he caught sight of Captain Avatar's plaque. The old captain had always seemed to be smiling behind his thick beard, but now his immobile gaze was almost accusatory. _You could have done more. You __should__ have done_ _more_.

Wildstar turned away, trying to hide from his scrutiny, but when they were marched off the bridge, he couldn't help but look up at the plaque.

_You're right_, he thought. _I've failed. Captain, I've failed you, and this ship. I am not worthy to stand by her side as Captain._

* * *

"Sir, we've captured the crew of that ship."

Prince Lugarl knew all this already. He had been watching the ship as it came in for its first landing upon Dinguil-occupied Earth.

The _Yamato_ was finally in his grasp.

"I take it, then, that the modified hyper-radiation missiles were a success?"

The adjutant shifted nervously. "There were a few deaths from those who couldn't get their masks on in time, but other than that, it went perfectly."

Lugarl II waved his hand dismissively. "If they could not help themselves, then they do not deserve to be members of the Dinguil Empire. Only the strong can survive!" He leaned forwards and said, "Bring me their captain. And I hear he is romantically involved with another, yes? She is to come, too."

The adjutant saluted and left to carry out his orders. Lugarl closed his eyes and smiled coldly. _Now. . . if I can perhaps convince them both to work beside me and have their world become an equal territory of the Dinguil Empire, then I will ensure we are unstoppable. With that ship in our possession, we will most likely be able to defeat anyone who dares attack us, but with the crew's cooperation, our rise is assured._

He looked out the window towards the darkened sky. _I will make you proud, Father._

* * *

Nova staggered as she was shoved into a dark room, though a light shone on her. She could see Derek standing a few feet in front of her. His arms, like hers, were bound together behind her back.

"Really?" a voice said from the darkness. "Guards, remove their bounds."

The chains clattered together loudly as they were unlocked and dropped on the floor. She saw Derek shivering and moved to grip his hands in hers, trying to warm his cold fingers.

"So, you _are_ a couple," the voice said again. "How interesting."

"Show us your face, you coward," Derek hissed, and Nova smiled at his bravery.

The guards must have flipped some sort of switch, because, suddenly, the room was awash in cold white light. Nova squinted into it and could just make out a throne before her, with a tall figure seated in it.

"You call me a coward?" the figure said as he stood. "I who crippled your ship? _I_, Prince Lugarl II of the Dinguil Empire?"

"Yeah," Derek said. "I do, your Highnessness."

Nova chuckled at that.

"What did you just call me?" Lugarl snarled.

"Classical reference of twentieth century Terran screenwriting," Nova said, unable to keep from smiling.

Lugarl waved dismissively. "This is not about the past. Rather, it is about the _future_."

"Write that speech yourself, did you?"

"Are you always so insolent when addressing your betters?"

"I am so insolent when addressing those who _call_ themselves my betters," Derek snapped.

"I have a proposition for you," Lugarl said, ignoring his comment. "You will ally yourselves with us, fight on our side, and in return, we will allow you to become a full territory of the Dinguil Empire." He said this last bit with a flourish as if it was supposed to be a marvelously grateful thing for him to do.

"Nice offer," Derek said in one of the most sarcastic voices she had ever heard, "but, upon careful consideration, I'm going to say no."

"'No'?" Lugarl hissed.

"Yeah," Nova said. "No, as in 'you can go execute us all you want, but the answer's still no.'"

"Nova?" Derek whispered in her ear. "You can only be executed once."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," another voice broke in, and then the wall exploded.

* * *

"_Desslok_?" Nova yelled.

Granted, she shouldn't have been that surprised that he had somehow miraculously survived (especially since that had kind of _already happened_) but that day had been so full of shocks that one more on top just left her completely paralyzed.

Until, of course, the guard tried to grab her and use her as a hostage against the Gamilons that had seemingly come from out of nowhere.

Scarcely thinking about it, she lashed out with her foot and tripped him flat on his back. He tried to aim his rifle at her to fire, but she kicked it out of his hands and yanked her and Derek's Astro-automatics from his belt and shot him twice in the chest.

"Derek, catch!" she yelled as she threw the sidearm to him. He kneed one guard in a certain very painful spot and caught the gun, pivoting on his heel to drop another with a well-placed shot.

Nova caught a flash of blond hair (that was _not _hers, thanks much) and yelled, "Desslok!"_  
_

The Gamilon Leader calmly turned and shot someone in the face, and said dryly, "I hope this is important, since, as you can see, I'm rather busy here."

"What the heck are you doing here?" Derek shouted at him.

"Rescuing you, clearly. You do realize he was about to shoot you, yes?"

Nova opened her mouth to say something and let out a yell when a Dinguil soldier grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her off her feet. A shot rang out, and Talan appeared where he had been standing. He gently helped her to her feet, and called over to Desslok, "Leader! It appears the explosion has damaged the superstructure!" To himself, he added, "And this ship's construction is horrendous."

The deck shook beneath their feet, and she heard a crash from farther away.

Then it happened, something which Nova would remember until the day she died.

A shot passed dangerously close to Desslok as he fought about three guards at once. Derek turned to shoot down the offending soldier, and, as he did, Lugarl, who had gone unnoticed during the battle, lifted a sleek black weapon from the arm of his throne and fired.

She saw the blast in slow motion, a scientific impossibility, and yet one that she could not hope to deny.

Derek fell to his knees as the shot soared on and impacted against the wall. Almost gracefully, he slumped to the floor.

She ran towards him instinctively, the same way she had when he had fallen on Desslok's flagship, back in 2201. Only now, she knew he was dying.

She saw Desslok spin and watch him fall, as she had, and he moved towards them and knelt at his side even as the ceiling finally collapsed behind him, cutting them off from Talan and his group.

Derek opened his eyes, his breath slow and labored. He smiled sadly, so sadly, as he took her hand.

"You know I love you, Nova," he whispered. She nodded, the tears in her eyes beginning to slowly trail down her cheeks. He noticed and wiped them away, his hand trembling as he laid it against her cheek. "I'm sorry I have to leave you like this. . . sorry I couldn't have made sure Earth was safe for you."

"Don't blame yourself," she hissed, but there was no venom in it. She loved him, loved him so much. . .

"And Desslok," he said, his voice going a little stronger. Desslok had an almost stricken look in his eyes as he looked at him, at them.

"Don't blame yourself, either," Derek said. "I know you too well. I can guess you'll feel my death just as strongly as anyone else. But what I want you to remember," he hissed as he gripped his hand tightly. He looked only faintly surprised at the contact. "What I want you to remember is how you fought us after we destroyed Gamilon. Use your vengeance to liberate Earth." He lifted his Astro-automatic and pressed it into his hand. "And protect Nova. Make sure she does not come to harm."

"I swear it," Desslok said, with a note of steel in his voice he had heard so many times, when they had fought. "Upon the _Yamato_ herself, I swear to you that I _will_ avenge you."

Derek smiled and whispered, "I know you will." At this, he leaned forwards and kissed Nova on the cheek one last time before his hand went slack and his eyes closed.

Nova was still for a few moments, until it struck her that Derek was _dead_ and she buried her head in her arms and simply sobbed, the tears finally falling from her dark brown eyes.

She heard a soft whisper, almost like a prayer, and lifted her head to see Desslok turning to give Lugarl a look of pure ice. The Dinguil prince tried to point his gun at her, but before he could, Desslok lifted Derek's Astro-automatic and fired a single shot directly into his heart. He fell from his throne, but Nova knew as she turned her gaze to Derek's closed eyes that there was nothing which could bring him back from death.


	5. Chapter Four: Fallen Angel

_Chapter Four_

A single white rose sat on the ground before dark stone, a breeze stirring its soft petals. Desslok trailed his hand down the side of the stone likeness, a perfect image of Wildstar save for the absence of the animated light in his eyes.

_Ironic, isn't it_, he thought as he dropped his hand and stood back, _that one of the same roses you used to mourn my death is being used to remember you. And ironic, too, that I brought about your death now, instead of when I had truly wished for it._

He closed his eyes as the wind picked up and blew past them, whipping against the stone figure of Captain Avatar, the brilliant strategist and warrior. _And why is it that_ _I_ _alone manage to cheat death, when those more deserving of it than I fall? _

He heard Nova come up behind him, and lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. _And why does she comfort me when she should be condemning me for his death?_

Desslok turned, opening his eyes as he did. Nova had tears trailing down her cheeks from her soft brown eyes. "It was different before," she whispered as the wind blew her golden hair back. "Then, I mourned them, but they weren't so close to me as he is. I know that's terrible to think of it that way, as if any of the others who died were less deserving of my sorrow, but I can't help it! When I look at him, I'm always looking for the life in his eyes, and I'll never see it. . ."

"Nova," he whispered as he took her hand. "I know. It's the same for me, as well."

She looked at him, her eyes widening as she understood. "Starsha."

He nodded simply at this. Nova sighed and walked to the edge of the hill, where it overlooked the capital city. It was burning now, in the way cities always did after an invading army had come in a strafing run to make a display of their power and make the civilians less resistant to their rule.

However, they had not yet realized that such a display could harm them just as much as it assisted them. None of the buildings appeared to have been destroyed. They wanted to preserve the infrastructure. But for what purpose?

"What do we do know?" Nova said with a weary sigh. "_Yamato_'s captured, who knows where. The crew, likewise. Government, captured. EDF, imprisoned or executed. All we've got are civilians."

Desslok smiled slightly. Nova had bypassed them in her account, and it was far more likely the invaders would, as well. That could be worked with. . .

"The same civilians who have survived the Gamilon War, the Cometine invasion, the Dark Nebulan occupation, and the Bolar Wars?" he said, looking over at Nova to gauge her reaction. "The same civilians who have come to see the _Yamato_ as a symbol of hope?"

Nova gave him a blank look for a moment, and then she grinned. "'All we have are torpedoes.' 'Then that's what we'll use.'" She rubbed her hands together gleefully. "Brilliant."

"So," Desslok said, "you tell me, how many of these civilians would be willing to help if we told them just what happened with Wildstar?"

"All of them."

* * *

They filed into the room slowly, partially from trepidation, partially because that was how their captors forced them to walk. As if they were beaten.

_Never,_ Venture thought, looking around at the dark-suited soldiers. _As long as I live, I will fight. And so will Wildstar. And everyone else._

He looked around the room they were in, the EDF council room. However, the only person in the red-on-white Star Force uniform he could see was Dash. And Nova was still absent, as well.

_Maybe they escaped_, he thought as he leaned against the wall and watched various government leaders being 'escorted' in. _But this seems off, somehow. I hope nothing happened to them. . ._

A sound similar to a gavel startled him out of his thoughts, and he realized that the reason it sounded like a gavel was because it _was_ a gavel. One of the soldiers had apparently found it on the podium and was banging it for silence. After a few moments, he snapped, "Your new leader, Emperor Lugarl I of the Dinguil Empire, will deign to speak with you."

He waved his hand towards the screen behind him, which changed to an image of a tall, grey-blue humanoid with long silver hair. His eyes were cold as ice and full of contempt as he looked at them. "Your Earth is now a occupied territory of the Dinguil Empire. As such, your population will, for the most part, be treated as slaves."

His eyes flicked over the crowd. Many of them seemed utterly terrified, but Venture noticed that every single member of the Star Force was staring back with an equal amount of hatred and defiance. _You demon_, Venture thought as he met this Lugarl's cold blue eyes. _You may have captured our ship, but we will resist you until the end of time._

"However," he continued, "it does not have to be that way. You can choose to assist. To fight for us. If you do-if even a single ship chooses to fight for us-then we will allow your people to live as you would have normally, under our protection."

"We do not need or want your protection," Commander Singleton said in a clear, calm voice. "You want something for us. I do not think you will abide by your promises. I will not trust a conquerer."

Lugarl's eyes flashed, and he said, "I think you may need a little incentive." He flicked his hand and the image changed to an overhead view of a darkened room. Suddenly, two figures were shoved in, two figures he recognized very well.

Nova and Derek.

"Wildstar!" Sandor shouted.

"The Captain of the _Yamato_ and his 'significant other'," Lugarl said in a voiceover. The lights in the room flicked on, and he noticed immediately another bluish figure sitting in a throne in front of Wildstar. "That is Prince Lugarl II, and he offered your people the same deal."

Venture was starting to feel sick. This had to go wrong somehow, otherwise they would not be showing it. What was going to happen?

"They refused." He could tell. Nova was clinging to Wildstar's arm as they said something defiant. Two of the guards, standing behind the pair, moved to raise their weapons to fire. "And then this happened."

Suddenly, the wall blew, and a cloud of smoke rose to obscure the camera. Through it, he could see various people fighting, and some other soldiers in brown armor which he knew from somewhere.

Some sort of breeze blew the smoke back just in time for him to see the prince shoot Wildstar in the back as he fired at someone else.

"_Derek_!" Venture screamed, amid similar shouts of "Wildstar!" and "Oh please, no!". He felt as if someone had just kicked him in the gut.

Scuffles arose all around him as Sandor and the rest of the bridge crew began grappling with the guards, but his eyes were fixed on the screen. A moment after Wildstar fell, Nova ran into the shot and flung herself over his fallen body. The smoke hiding the rest of the view dissipated just as a section of wall collapsed, cutting Nova off from the soldiers.

And then he saw another person run to Wildstar's side. Someone with a very familiar black cloak and blond hair.

Silence fell as the Star Force members saw who it was. Sandor looked over at him as if for confirmation, and Venture nodded.

_I don't know how, but it's Desslok, definitely. _

The video footage disappeared and Lugarl returned to the screen. "I lessen my requirements," he said calmly. "Tell us who he is, and we will not harm your people."

Venture laughed joyfully. They didn't know! They didn't know who he was! And Desslok and Nova had escaped, and were in prime position to wreak havoc upon the enemy.

_Don't worry, guys. Your secret's safe with me._

"We'll never tell you," Venture said, smiling even though tears still ran down his cheeks. "We won't betray our only chance at destroying you. I don't care if you kill me. _I will not tell you._"

Lugarl's face twisted into a snarl. "We won't kill you," he hissed. "Throw them into the prisons and see if the desire to see the sun loosens their tongues."

"It won't," Homer said as he looked over at Venture. "You killed our friend, our Captain. There is nothing-" he let out a sniffle and wiped his tears away fiercely with the back of his hand "-_nothing_ you can do to us that will hurt more."

The transmission cut off, and Venture turned to meet Homer's eyes. He nodded sadly, a gesture he understood.

_No hard feelings._

Venture nodded back slowly.

_I know. Now that Wildstar's dead_, he turned his head to the window, savoring his last look of sunlight, _they can never do anything to us which will break our hearts, because they're already shattered._


	6. Chapter Five: Defiance

_Chapter Five_

An explosion sounded over the shrieking alarms as two figures ran into the base, which was already burning from a strafing run given by the Moonbase fighters. Armored and uniformed men ran through the halls, shouting various curses and orders as the building shook from a well-placed missile.

"_Why are you running_?" an enraged commander screamed at his subordinates as they threw down their weapons and turned to run. "They're just insolent idiots who have not recognized that resistance is futile!"

"You don't know them!" one of the soldiers shouted back as his comrades scampered away. "They say they're not living beings, but angels come to avenge the death of one of their own! They say-"

"They say, they say!" his superior roared back. "_I_ say they're just a bunch of stupid partisans who don't know what's coming to them!"

"And what _is_ coming to them, Commander?" another voice said coolly as its owner strode down the collapsing hallway towards them. The soldier let out a terrified gasp and bolted.

The remaining Dinguil officer undid the safety on his weapon with an ominous click as he stared the enemy down. "I don't care what that idiot thinks. You're good fighters, I'll give you that, but you're only a martyr to a hopeless cause. You are just a group of foolish partisans trying to evade the inevitable. We will win. We always do."

"Perhaps you could have won," his opponent said softly. "If you had not done one thing."

"And that is?" the officer snapped, ready to fire.

An explosion outside lit up the hallway, revealing Leader Desslok's icy, remorseless eyes as he stared him down. It was at that moment when the commander realized the full extent of his enemy's fury and wrath, and he felt the first touch of the cold fear which had been in his subordinates' hearts.

"Kill Derek Wildstar," Desslok hissed as he shot him with his former-enemy-turned-friend's former weapon. The Dinguil officer fell to the ground as another blast blew back his cape and sent traces of burning debris throughout the hallway.

He stepped over the fallen body and into the room beyond, a brightly lit command center which had been mostly unharmed during the attack, for the simple reason that it was the raid's target. His appearance was so sudden that he managed to fell five of them before they moved to attack back, and once they did he noticed that most of them were flinching away, no doubt because they knew of what had come before.

Because this attack was only one in a long line, steadily liberating the planet and her inhabitants and bringing increasingly more supporters to fight by their side. Though the goal was not unfamiliar to him, the last time he had carried out such a campaign, it had not been so insidious in its attacks. The broad strokes were his work. The finer, deadly details in this work belonged to Nova Forrester.

The blue fire of an Earth weapon heralded her arrival as the slender young warrior charged into battle, her eyes blazing with hatred and pure, righteous fury. She expertly shot down the soldiers he had not yet accounted for and then turned to him, weapon held loosely at her side.

"When," she said with a small sigh in her voice, "will you stop going off on your own?"

"You have your ways of vengeance," he responded calmly. "I have mine."

Nova scowled at him and turned to the consoles, some of which had been severely damaged by intentional sabotage. "You're sure this is the place where they keep their information?"

"You read the data, did you not?"

"And you always answer questions with questions," Nova shot back as she shoved a body off of a board with a momentary look of revulsion. She bent over it, muttering angrily to herself as she plugged a modified data drive into the console. "We'll have to copy this over, unfortunately, since we can't spend half an hour breaking all of the codes like last time," she said with a glance at the radar display.

"I can tell what you are doing, so I see no point for that comment."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Don't Gamilons ever think out loud?"

Desslok shrugged. "I see it as endangering your knowledge."

"Of course you do," Nova said with barely disguised sarcasm. "Would you like some tea to go with that paranoia,_ Monsieur_?"

"No, but I would not mind some classified information as a side dish."

"You are incorrigible."

"I could say the same for you, _Mademoiselle._"

The console beeped as she yanked out the drive and snapped, "I'd throw this at you, but I'm worried about the poor drive getting broken."

"So you _have_ mastered some of the rudiments of hacking."

"You're one to talk."

The room was lit up with a sudden explosion, and Nova snapped into her headset, "Sakamoto, watch those missiles! There are still good guys in here!"

Desslok opened the door and gestured to it dramatically. "After you, madam."

Nova rolled her eyes and stormed out the door. Immediately, gunshots sounded as the waiting soldiers fired at them. Nova ducked back into the room and said, "If they were standing out here all this time, why didn't they just charge in here and shoot us while I was hacking the files?"

"Idiocy?"

She shrugged and fired off several shots into the hallway. A few of the guards seemed to duck for cover, but the rest simply stood firm even though it meant several of them fell.

"Unlike those others superstitious fools, _we_ don't buy into the tales of you people being angels looking for vengeance and all that!" one of them shouted in Terran, with resounding cheers from the others. "If you want to convince us, you'll have to do something pretty impressive!"

On cue, the ceiling partially collapsed, burying them in dirt and debris as another group of fighters dropped down upon them and began ferociously fighting them in whatever manner they could.

"How was that?" Desslok yelled back, giving Nova a "_I don't know what's going on, but I am certainly not passing up the opportunity to mock them" _look as he readied Wildstar's Astro-automatic and said, "Let's see who they are now, shall we?"

* * *

Neville Royster had never been so scared in all his life, not even when the _Yamato_ had been flying through that asteroid field all the way back in 2201. Not even when he had almost died in the attack on the Comet Empire's power center.

His traditional blue-on-white Mechanical uniform was dirty and torn from his imprisonment and the circumstances of his escape. Namely, the brig area half-exploding from a wayward missile. And then, of course, the fights with the various guards and the crawl through the base in search of whoever had attacked the base. The others seemed to be looking up to him as their leader, simply because he had been the first to openly show defiance.

_Well_, he thought grimly as he punched a guard in the face and yanked his rifle from his grip to shoot it at one of the many other invaders in this place, _I guess being scared of everything means there's really no difference between things that frighten you and things which make any sane person want to go hide somewhere nice and safe._

One of the guards tried to yank him away, setting his glasses askew just as plenty of bullies had always done. Now, though, there was nothing preventing him from dishing out just what he got served up.

He angrily stamped on the guard's foot in a move he had seen someone from Combat pull before twisting free.

"Now here's the thing about being so thin," Royster snapped as he spun around and punched his enemy right in the gut. "It's impossible to keep you from wriggling free." A shot from behind hit him in the chest as he slumped over against the wall.

"Neville?" a soft voice said in some surprise behind him. He turned to see Nova, wearing what looked like a standard EDF peacoat with a rifle slung over her shoulders and a white uniform he remembered from the catastrophe with the Dark Nebulans.

"Oh," he stammered, gripping his hands together behind his back. "Um. Hi, ma'am. I was. . . just. . . well, erm, dealing with. . ." He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the fallen guard. "Not that, um, you needed my assistance. . . not at all. I was just. . ."

"I believe this is the definition of the Terran term 'adorkable'," someone else said as _Desslok_ walked up behind Nova holding an Astro-automatic in his right hand.

Royster swore privately to himself as he said, "No, well, maybe, yes, your Imperial Majesty?" He said that last bit with a fair amount of trepidation, since he had no idea _what_ he was supposed to call him and figured a little flattery might be useful.

"'Your Imperial Majesty'," Desslok echoed. "I like that."

Nova rolled her eyes and said, "So, Royster, you're the one who engineered this?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose."

Nova shook her head. "Unbelievable. Talk about hidden depths."

Royster suddenly noticed something and turned to her, curiosity overcoming nerves. "If you don't mind me asking, where's Captain Wildstar? Knowing him, he'd be right in the thick of things. . ."

He trailed off as he noticed the look on Nova's face, one that told him this was not a good subject.

"Yes," she whispered, "he would, if. . ."

"If?" Royster said in a very small voice. The sounds of combat had petered off now, and he could see his fellow inmates gathered around them, hanging onto the words just as he was.

"If," Desslok hissed in a very bitter voice, "these same _demons_ hadn't simply _killed_ him at the very beginning of this conflict."

Royster swallowed hard as he whispered, "I'm so sorry, Nova. . ."

"Thanks, Royster," she said as she wiped her tears away ferociously with the back of her hand as she straightened up.

"Anything I can do to help?"

Nova opened her mouth to say 'no' when she paused, a look of inspiration passing slowly across her face. "Actually, yes. Remember that time when you figured out how to use the Wave Motion Gun as a propulsion device?"

How could he have forgotten? It was his single, shining glory throughout a lifetime spent hiding in the background. The first time he felt he could be a part of something great. "Of course."

Nova smiled. "How good are you with computers?"


	7. Chapter Six: Respite

_Chapter 6_

"Okay," Royster said. "I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I'm _certain_ this was not it."

He stood at the top of the Underground EDF Headquarters Operations Room, except it really didn't deserve that designation.

The entire structure had been almost completely redesigned, and the equipment, as far as he could see, was a bizarre fusion of Galman and Terran technology. The huge screen that took up the front of the wall had been replaced with holographic projections of the planet and surrounding area, constantly shifting and zooming as the people below required.

As for the people themselves: this was no longer the official environment it had been. Those at the consoles were a mixture of Earthling civilians and military personnel from both Earth and Galman. And the weirdest thing was that they all seemed perfectly comfortable with the others. He could have sworn he saw a purple-haired Galman pilot flirting with a blonde Earth girl in the front row.

"War makes for strange bedfellows, eh?" Nova said as she walked up behind him. "Crazy, I know."

"More than crazy," Royster said. "You did all this in _three weeks_? Forgive me if I find that a little hard to believe."

"You bested an intergalactic empire your first time out of your own solar system in a two-hundrred-year-old retrofitted warship," Desslok noted wryly. "It seems the spirit of the _Yamato_ is still with us."

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Royster said, turning to look at the console.

"We've been looking, but we haven't found anything concrete," Nova said. "That's part of the reason for our attacks: we've been trying to hit the intelligence centers to locate her."

"I really hope they haven't turned her into one of their warships," Royster muttered.

"She wouldn't let them," Desslok said.

"How would she stop them?"

"Spirit can be a powerful thing."

Royster simply nodded and said, "So, what am I doing here? Nova, you said something about computers."

Nova nodded. "For all that it looks like we have a huge enterprise, a lot of our success is hinging on the Galman infiltration teams. The only reason we've accomplished this much, this quickly, is because the Dinguil don't know about the underground cities. And, we really don't have a good computer guy."

He held up his hands. "Wait. You brought me here to be your _hacker_?"

Nova flushed. "Well, yeah."

Royster grinned. "Just tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"Here," Desslok said as he flicked a hologram at him. "This is the information we got from the base."

"This is a grocery list in French."

"You people have too many languages."

"If I may ask: _why_ was there a grocery list in French?"

Desslok shot Nova a pointed look. "Ask her."

"It was _meant_ to be a code-"

"It's a grocery list! Why does it need to be encoded in the first place?"

"I think I missed something here," Talan said as he walked up and handed off a report to Desslok. "Although, this is one of the funnier conversations I've walked in on."

"Darn, I've embarrassed myself in front of the Galman general," Royster muttered.

Nova gave him an odd look. "Who says 'darn' anymore?"

"Just let me be embarrassed in peace, will ya?"

"Nova, can you take command here?" Desslok said suddenly.

Nova looked at him strangely. "Yeah, sure. Why?"

"A situation I need to discuss with General Talan," he said over his shoulder as he left.

Nova looked after him briefly before muttering a quick 'excuse me' and following.

"Knew that was going to happen," Royster said quietly as he turned back to the console and began looking through the information.

* * *

"Are you certain?" Desslok asked Talan.

"I am. Their beliefs will not condone the killing of their prince. Blood must be spilled to satisfy their gods."

"The blood of the Earthlings, naturally."

"Unfortunately, yes. They have allowed them to live this long for only the reason that the _Yamato _is still under repair."

"Her spirit will not be able to fight them much longer. Eventually, the fear of their superior's wrath will overcome their superstition. Once that happens, they can destroy the Earthlings at their leisure."

"Indeed."

Desslok sighed. "Very well. If we fail and the _Yamato_ leaves orbit before you have been informed, you have permission to fire on her."

"Destroy the _Yamato_? Even if we can, it would be. . ."

"I know, Talan. But if that happens, it will be up to you."

"Very well."

He set off down the hallway, and the sound of his footsteps had almost faded entirely when Desslok said, "Nova, how long have you been hiding in the shadows?"

Nova slipped out from around the corner, unsurprised that he knew she was there. "I'm worried about you."

Desslok narrowed his eyes at her. "For what reason?"

"Just-" She sighed and said, "Whenever we go on missions, you always go off alone to do. . . _something_. You're pursuing this vendetta, and I hate to bring up a bad memory, but I remember how you were when you were fighting us during the Cometine attacks. You're-I don't know who to describe it, but something's wrong with you." She sighed. "I'm really not helping here."

Desslok sighed and turned away slightly, his gaze fixed on something beyond her. "That's exactly the problem, Nova. I'm trying not to repeat the Cometine War, but I need to avenge him." He pulled out Derek's Astro-automatic and weighed it in his hand. "Derek charged me with the liberation of Earth. I _know_ that, but still-"

"I get it," Nova said softly. At Desslok's look, she said, "Well, I actually _don't_ get it, but I think you still miss him, just as much as anybody else. And you don't have to constantly hide it, either. Just because you mourn for him doesn't mean you lose something."

He nodded slowly. "You are very intelligent, Nova."

She smiled.

"Hey, guys!"

Nova turned to face the newcomer as Royster skidded to a halt. He looked between the pair of them and said, "Is this a bad time?"

"Not really," Nova said. "Now, if you'd come a minute earlier, _that_ would have been a bad time."

Royster chuckled and said, "Well, I sorta stumbled upon this message from the guy in charge of the base you attacked to some other commander asking when the 'Terran warship', as he said, would be done with repairs so they 'could get off this rock'. The other guy sent some info back-somewhat useful, but that's not the point. The main thing is that I traced the IP address-"

"The what?"

"Coordinates the message was sent from," Nova muttered.

"-and it gave me the _exact_ room this supercomputer is in-this building in the Megalopolis, business district."

Desslok gave him an approving nod and looked over at Nova. She smiled. Finally, they would be able to find the _Yamato_. The Star Force had been grounded for far too long.


End file.
